- The American School of Classical Studies at Athens

A KNIDIAN PHALLIC VASE FROM CORINTH
(PLATEs
85 and 86)
YKINOS, the principalspeakerin the Amoresof pseudo-Lucian,Isays that he made the
1L vesselon which he and his friendswere sailingto Italyput in at Knidos, so that they might
see the shrine of Aphrodite.As was appropriatein a town belonging to Aphrodite,laughter
at the bawdinessand licentiousnessof the productsof the potter'scraft they saw enlivened
their tour of the town.2 To judge from this passage, Knidian potters were famous for their
lewd ceramics. Such pottery aroused ribald laughter among the Lykinosesof the ancient
world. Other people of a less knowing and sophisticateddisposition would have invested
such objects with a more seriouspurpose and significance:they would have seen powerful
devices capable of protecting the inhabitantsof the house in which they were hung from
evil in general,from envy,and particularlyfromthe banefulinfluenceof the Evil Eye of Envy.
In a drainto the east of the Odeion at CorinthOscar Broneeruneartheda large quantity
of Roman pottery,fromwhich were mended severalfine-warevesselsstill unique among the
Corinthianinventory.3A plasticvase (C-27-37)from this deposit (P1.85) is the subjectof this
1
The dialogue is not the work of Lucian: vocabulary,style, and the avoidance of hiatus exclude that
possibility;see Bloch 1907; RE XIII, 1927, s.v. Lukianos,col. 1730 (R. Helm). Its date of composition Bloch
places, on no very substantialgrounds, at the beginning of the 4th century after Christ. The description of
Knidos, however,he believes derivesin part from autopsyand in part from the Kawt 'IIrtopta of Ptolemaeus
Chennus (late 1st or early 2nd century after Christ),who in his turn got it from the epigrammatistof the 3rd
century B.C., Posidippus(pp. 47-49). It is quite unclear whether the Posidippuswho wrote the llMpLKvt8ou
(Clement of Alexandria, Protr.4.53.5, 57.3 = FGrH F447) is the epigrammatistand, in consequence, when
the workwas written. So FGrHIIIb, p. 291; Lloyd-Jonesand Parsons 1983, p. 347.
2 Amores11: x6xXtp pepftvwruv KvtBov o6x &yiEXaad1
-j Xe5pave:UULXq &XoXaaEaqVEUX(" &q Es
Jones
(1984,
pp.
177-180)
would
place
the
dialogue in the late 2nd or first half of the
n6X&e.
'Ayppo8&rrj
3rd century,mainly because its preciosityof style resemblesthe younger Philostratus.The passage provides
further evidence because it cannot have been composed before Knidos began to manufactureplastic vases,
and it seems unlikely that it was composed very long after the disappearanceof the vases, since the allusion
to their bawdinesswould then be largelymeaningless.Knidos was manufacturingand exportingplasticvases in
the last quarterof the 1stcenturyafterChristto the firsthalf of the 3rd century.Lucian himself(Lex.7) refersto
Knidian drinkingcups as though they were somethingratherspecial,but we are unable to find other references
to Knidian ware. Since the dialogue is based on ILucianand so is probably somewhat later than his fioruit,
this confirms that the Amoresmust belong to the late 2nd or early 3rd century after Christ rather than the
early 4th century as Bloch (1907) suggests. (KvsL&c
xep6tLcx[Euboul. fr. 132 Hunter = Athen. I.28c] seems
to referonly to the capacityof Knidian amphoras.)
3 Drain 1927-1 (east-west)connects to Drain 1927-2 (north-south).These are markedrespectivelyr and 8
on Corinth
X, pl. III. Permissionto publishthe two vases from Corinthwas grantedby the Corinth Excavations,
American School of Classical Studies at Athens, which also provided the photographs. Both authors wish to
thank in particularthe Director of the Excavations,Charles K. Williams,II, for his interest and suggestions.
KathleenWarnerSlane is also indebtedto him for workingfacilitiesduring 1990/1991 when part of this article
was prepared. We should also like to record our gratitude for help afforded by Nancy Bookides, Assistant
Director of the Excavations.The followinghave been kind enough to discussthe inscriptionsand have offered
guidance and suggestions: ChristopherP.Jones, DavidJordan, LambrosMissitzis,and Antony Raubitschek.
Hespena
62.4 (1993)
American School of Classical Studies at Athens
is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve, and extend access to
Hesperia
®
www.jstor.org
484
KATHLEEN W SLANE AND M. W DICKIE
article;other unique pieces are a Corinthianimitationof a Late ItalianDragendorff29 with
impressedrelief decoration and a thin-walledpitcher perhaps imported from Italy. Thirty
more or less complete vesselsthat accompanythem are local fine and coarsewares typicalof
the 2nd century after Christ, perhaps of its second half.4 This date for the deposit is also
supported by numerous lamps and coins found in the fill.5 A coin of Septimius Severus
(Megara)was found near C-27-37 at the east end of Drain 1927-1, and coins of Hadrian,
AntoninusPius, and LuciusVeruswere found furtherwest in both drains.Although earlier
materialwas clearlypresent, most of the finds can thus be dated comfortablyin the second
half of the 2nd century.
C-27-37, the most strikingobject in the group, is a moldmadevessel of Knidian fabric,6
from its shape apparentlyan unguent container.The vessel is essentiallycigar-shaped,long
and narrow,with an oval mouth and a rounded end.7 It was made in a two-part plaster
mold, still quite fresh at the time this piece was produced.8The two parts of the mold were
joined while the clay was still wet, and the exteriorjoint (whichruns continuouslyfrom the
mouth of the vessel to the tip and back to the mouth, see P1. 85:b, d) was pared smooth
afterthe complete,partiallydriedvesselwas removedfromthe mold. A separatelymade ring
handle, decorated with three parallel grooves, was then attached to the upper part of the
left side, and, afterfurtherdrying,the vessel was slippedand fired.
The relief decorationis confined to the front of the container.Below the mouth of the
vessel are a human head and torso. The bottom consistsof a phallusand wings. (The form of
the receptaclelends itself naturallyto such a representation.)The left arm and hand of the
We should like to acknowledgea special debt to Katherine Dunbabin. Dr. Krystyna Moczulska, Keeper of
Ancient Art, CzartoryskiMuseum, Krakow,was good enough to provide photographs of a phallic vase in
her charge, and we are extremelygratefulto her.
4 Dateable pieces include severalimitationsof the eastern sigillataB form (Hayes 60, E9A Suppl. II, 1985,
pp. 1-76, s.v. Sigillateorientali [J. Hayes]);an imported stewpot in corrugatedcooking fabric of the general
a collarino
type of Hayes 1983, ribbedcooking-waretype 2, fig. 7; an Italianurnetta
of the 2nd or 3rd century;and
severallocal mugs of the same shape.
5 The lampswere publishedin Corinth
Ix ii withoutindicationof their context. Nos. 174 (typeXI), 515 (type
XXVII A), and 702 (type XXVII D), pp. 147, 183, 189, and 205, pls. XII and XXXI, were all found very
close to C-27-37; only no. 702 is illustratedin the volume. From furtherwest come nos. 555 (type XXVII
A), 597 (type XXVII C), 725 and 749 (both type XXVII), pp. 187, 193, 208-209, fig. 112, pls. XXVI and
XXXI.
6 It has a hard, gritty,light-redfabric (5YR 6/6-7/6) with a moderate amount of tiny gray inclusions and
more abundantsmallerwhite bits. A little mica is visibleon the surface.Where the fabricis thickestin the back
of the vessel the core is fired gray (N 6/). Over the front, most of the back, and inside the neck, there is a thin,
streaky,mottled, reddish yellow slip (5YR 5/8-7/8, and redder on front)which contains slightly more mica
than the biscuit.This fabricmatchesthat of Knidian objectsfound at Corinth (Hellenisticstampedamphoras,
lamps of the 1st century after Christ, and Knidian relief vesselsof more canonical shapes).A Knidian source
is thereforeassured.
7 Total length 0.238 m., maximumwidth from side to side 0.086 m., thicknessof biscuit0.004 m. Thirteeen
joining fragmentspreservethe complete vessel, except the right side of the torso and one piece from the back.
8 The small globules of clay formed in the air bubbles of a plaster mold are visible in numerous grooves
on the front(viz.the ridge aroundthe phallus,the V-shapedincisionsin the "scar",and the groovesbetween the
firstand second fingersof the right hand).Althoughthe linearityof the relief,particularlythe wings, fingernails,
and detailsof the head, gives the impressionthat the frontwas substantiallyretouchedafterit was removedfrom
the mold, the piece is actuallycast from a new or freshmold.
A KNIDIAN PHALLICVASE FROM CORINTH
485
figure stretchup to clutch at the throat slightlyto the right of the chin; where the right arm
and hand were is unclear.The head of the figureis inclined sharplytowardsthe right. The
face is renderedin some detail;the featuresare distortedand grotesque: The mouth is half
open in rictus,and the lips are large and fleshy.The nose is long and apparentlyhooked; the
nostrilsspreadout to the side. The eyebrowsare bushyand lower overwide-set,bulgingeyes.
There are deep creases in the brow,which is knitted in a heavy frown. On the hair above
the brow is set a vine wreath. Hair rises above the wreath and is representedby horizontal
lines. The ears, which are exposed, are prominent, and from them dangle heavy,jangling
earringsconsistingof two disksor sphereswith two leaflikebangles hanging below.
A mantle, indicated by incised folds, covers the figure'supper arms and also extends
over the lower part of the torso. A shallowdot (an originaldetail)might markthe umbilicus
of the undraped torso, but sets of grooves below it may be intended as drapery covering.
A pair of these lines runsobliquelyacrossthe abdomenbelow the umbilicus;between them is
a band of V-shapedincisions. Small wings, protrudingon each side from the body of the
vessel, are outspreadjust below the elbows of the figure, as though these were the figure's
wings.The right-handwing has curvedlines for the down and long incisionsrepresentingthe
pin-feathers;the feathersof the left-handwing are representedentirelyby curvedlines. The
end of the vessel is in the shape of a large phallus,with foreskindrawn back and decorated
with parallelchevrons.
The mold for the back was completelyundecorated.A low ridge runs verticallyup the
middle,more or less correspondingin length to the human torso on the front.An inscription,
OAOK[. .]NOE, was incised freehandinto the clay before firing(P1.85:c). It runs vertically
downwards;the letters,however,are writtenhorizontally.Althoughone naturallythinksthat
thismightbe the maker'sname, suchinscriptionson otherKnidianvesselsare sometimesdedications or prayers.9The onomasticaofferno examplesof names of this form. On the other
hand, there are lamps from Ephesoswith the letters OA[ ...] on them, presumablythe first
two lettersofthe maker'sname.10Its form suggestsan adjectivewith the intensiveprefix bxo-.
The face has a stronglymasculinecast, although this may be a function of the extreme
distortionof the features.The earringssuggesta woman. There is evidence for men wearing
earringsin the EasternGreekworld of the late 7th and 6th centuriesB.C., 11 but this practice
is hardlypertinenthere. FromClassicaltimes on, the wearingof earringswas associatedwith
eastern peoples such as Lydians, Phrygians,Carthaginians,and Syrians and was thought
to be disgracefulin a man.12It is thus possible that the head is that of an effeminateor an
easterner,althoughwhy such a representationshould be thought appropriatein this context
is a mystery.On the other hand, the grotesquehead on a terracottaphallus in the Louvre,
9 For examples of dedications, see Bailey 1988, pp. 328-329. An example of what may be a prayer is
discussedbelow,pp. 498-499.
10 See Bailey 1988, no. Q3060, p. 377, figs. 42, 132, pl. 102.
11 On this, see Kurtz and Boardman 1986, pp. 61-62, 69. We are indebted to Aileen Ajoutian for the
reference.
12 Xenophon, Anab.3.1.31; Dio Chrysostom 32.3; Sextus Empiricus, Pyrrh.3.203; Agathias, Hist. 3.28;
Plautus,Poen.980-981; Pliny,NHI11.136; Sch.Dan. in Vergil,Aen. 1.30. See also RACIV 1959, cols. 631-632,
s.v.Effeminatus(H. Herter).
486
KATHLEEN W SLANE AND M. W DICKIE
which also is embellishedby distinctiveearrings,is unquestionablyfemale (see below,p. 500).
In sum, it would be safestto record a verdictof nonliqueton the sex of the head.
Whateverits sex may be, the.figureon the vessel must representEnvy,normally shown
as a male figure,since cpOovos
is masculine(if C-27-37is female,it representsPoaxcvLc
or invidia).The stranglinggesture (left hand at the throat), sharply bent head, grimacing
mouth and frowning eyebrowsare characteristicelements of the iconography.13It is then
possiblethat the puzzlingV-shapedlines below the bellybuttonrepresentnot draperybut the
gapingwound that is anothercommon characteristicof personificationsof Envy.14Although
numerousrepresentationsof Envyareknownon mosaics,lamps,and amulets,the Corinthian
example is the firstknown to decoratewhat may be a container.
THE APOTROPAICPHALLUS
Both the phallus and the motif of self-strangulationor choking are used to avert the
Evil Eye of Envy.'5 The phallus in particularwas the most widely used means of warding
it off 16 In Greece its use is attested from the 6th century B.C. onwards, although there is
much less evidence for its employment against the Evil Eye in the Greek-speakingworld
and especiallyin Greece itself than there is in the Latin-speakingworld. The phallus as an
apotropaeumagainst the Evil Eye was known in the Roman world from at least the 2nd
centuryB.C.17
Plinythe Elder(NH 28.39) saysexplicitlythat babieswore a phallusas protectionagainst
fascinationby the Evil Eye and that a phallushung for the same purpose from the chariotin
which the triumphantgeneralrode.18Varro,accordingto Augustine(Civit.dei7.2 1),reported
3 See Dunbabin and Dickie 1983, pp. 7-37, esp. pp. 30-31.
Dunbabin and Dickie 1983, pp. 8, 19, 21-23, and 31, pls. 3:c, e and 4:d.
We are fully conscious that in using the term "Evil Eye of Envy" rather than aacxav(aor yO6voq, or
fascinatioor invidia,we run the risk of misleading the reader. We use "Evil Eye of Envy" partly as a matter
of convenience and partly because it is the traditionalway in classical studies of referringto what is in fact
a constellationof beliefsthat differin greateror lessermeasurefrom each other.What they all have in common
is the conviction that envy is able to harm by supernaturalmeans. The harm done is not necessarilyalways
imagined to have been caused by the eye of an enviousperson, nor even by a person, althoughBonneau (1982,
pp. 23-24) places too much weight on the etymologyof PaaxavEa(inwhich there is no element meaning "eye")
in her discussionof the meaning of that term. Fora more balanceddiscussion,see Bernand 1991, pp. 102-103.
Despite these qualifications,it remainsthe case that the eye does play an importantand even a central role in
this complex of beliefs.Michael Herzfeldhas veryproperlyinsistedthat the term "EvilEye" should not be used
in cross-culturalcomparisons,on the groundthat it lumps under one headingvery differentphenomena (1986,
p. 108, note 3). Our reservationsgo a good deal furtherthan Herzfeld's,but an article on what is basically
an iconographictheme is not the appropriateforum to press that point.
16 On this use of the phallus,cf.Jahn 1855, pp. 28-110; Wagner 1937, pp. 79-83; Herter 1938, cols. 17331744.
17 Luciliusfrr.78, 959 (Marx).
18 si dormiens
spectetur
infans,a nutrice
ternaadspuiinosquamquam
rebgione
eumtutatur
etfascinus.
imperatorum
etfascinus,
nonsoluminfantium,
quoque,
custos,quideusintersacraRomanaa Vestalibus
colitur,
et currustriumphantium,
subhispendens,
defendit
medicus
invidiae,iubetque
eosdem
respicere
similismedicina
gloriaecarnifrx.Cf.
lnguae,ut sit exorataa tergoFortuna
Varro,Ling.lat. 7.97: puerulisturpicula
resin colloquaedam
nequidobsit.
suspenditur,
14
15
A KNIDIAN PHALLICVASE FROM CORINTH
487
that a phalluswas takenthroughthe forumof Laviniumand that a matronplaced a crown on
it so that there should be a good harvestand the fields be protected from fascination.19So
great indeed is the power of the phallusagainstthe Evil Eye that in later antiquityits name is
employed,in conjunctionwith the namesof variousother symbolsregularlyused to avertthat
danger,as a talismanagainstthe Evil Eye. The formula?toc,20 ,iovXo, tpfL, 0ezocx&Ai,
is found on one side of a number of bronze amulets.21
'AAotXXo
&vBpoq,GstpouOoxa,V)Xoq,
The phallus as an apotropaicdevice is always erect, disproportionatelylarge, or both.
The foreskinis alwayspulled back or perhapscircumcised.22The phallusis generallyshown
with testicles, although no testicles are shown on the phallic vases discussed here; their
absence is to be explained by the shape of the vessels.23Perdrizetassertedthat the phallus,
when used as an apotropaeumagainstthe Evil Eye, was generallyrepresentedejaculating.24
There are at least two such instancesfrom Pompeii,painted at strategicspots on walls, and
two in mosaic from Tunisia, but the motif is by no means common.25 It is something of
an exaggeration,accordingly,to say that the apotropaicphallusis generallyin this condition;
the significanceof the motif is by no means clear.
Yet another common feature of apotropaicphallusesis the wings with which C-27-37
is equipped;26sometimesthe phallushas not only wings but also legs. In the case ofC-27-37,
the leading edges of the wings face the wrong direction,if it is the phallus itself ratherthan
the figure that is imagined to be winged. It is nonetheless virtuallycertain that the wings
are a motif that derives from winged phalluses. The significanceof the wings and legs on
these phallusesremains obscure. Theories that posit a single meaning are unconvincing;27
19 sic vielcet Liberdeusplacandusfieratpro
eventibus
sic ab agrfascinatiorepeilenda.
seminum,
20
Forinioq meaningpudendum
muliebre,
see Barb(1972, p. 352), who cites Hesychiuss.v.Ycsov: c6 6pLovxotl
C6Ci yuvoalxosxoalcoiu&v8p6.
21 Schlumberger1892, no. 7, pp. 80-81; Seyrig 1934, pp. 6-7; Bonner 1951, no. 51 (B.M. 56324), pp. 334335.
22 It is worthnotingin thisconnectionthatthe middlefingerextendingfroma clenchedfist, the so-calleddigitus
(Schol.inJuvenal 10.52; Priap.56.1-2; Martial6.70.5), orfamosus(Porphyriusin
infamis(Perseus2.33), impudiews
Horace, Sat. 2.8.26), or in Attic xaanty&v (Pollux2.148), which is manifestlya phallic symbol and which
was used as an apotropaeumagainstthe Evil Eye, was also knownas verpus
(Gloss.2.206.49: verpus:
8ptXoqxat 6
a
fair
tr)5
This
is
a
indication
that
phallus
which
had
not
been
or whose
circumcised
Xelpo?).
MxwiXoq
V?aos
foreskinwas not retractedwas not thought effective.
23 That the presence or absence of testicles could nonetheless be of considerable importance for the
iconographicalsignificanceis suggested by a prescriptionfor a magical amulet in (yranides, which says that
to rendera man impotentor make him into a XEVaL8oO,
a castratedmale figureshould be engravedon obsidian
with his genitals lying about his feet, his hands hanging down, and his gaze directed at his privateparts: F-L
U &q<6V 6+LVb6VMEOoV
yXi3Oov&vOpnov &7t6xonov,Exov-ca tapp&
coCq t6kcq t& &L0xolaXEtcEvCz,<&q
U XEElp( X&iA) & )X4LVCX, oX6iUtvU xi-c pXAnov-cx tots tqOatWoLq (p. 65 Kaimakis). It seems as if the
author of this prescriptionis consciouslytrying to distinguishby these specificationsthe impotence-inducing
amulet from amulets in which an ithyphallicman with testicles is portrayedholding his hands at his throat
while directing his gaze upwards.The recipe in Cyranides
makes clear, not surprisingly,that an erect phallus
equippedwith testiclesis a symbol of virile power.
24 Perdrizet1922, p. 31. The observationis endorsedby Bernand (1991, p. 104).
25 Pompeii: Pompeii:PiFtree mosaiciI, p. 399, pl.
3; Pitturee mosaiciII, p. 929, pl. 1, p. 931, pl. 4. Tunisia:
Foucher 1960, no. 57.011, pp. 4-5, pl. IV:a;Germain 1969, no. 129, p. 94, pl. XLII:129.
26 On phallusesin fantasticforms, see Herter
1938, cols. 1723-1728.
27 For discussion,see Herter 1938, cols. 1723-1724.
KATHLEEN W SLANE AND M. W DICKIE
488
the winged phallus almost certainly carried a multiplicityof meanings. Those with wings
and legs may have seemed to have a life of their own and to be a more potent threat than
simple,unadornedphalluses.28
The erect phallus, with testiclesas a symbol of virility,threatensthe envious and those
endowed with the Evil Eye with being buggered.29That the testicles were thought to be
in which Priapus
essential for this purpose emerges from a poem in the CorpusPriapeorum
declaresthat he is no eunuch and that anyone who imaginesthat no one will know whether
or not he has been buggeredin some remote spot is mistaken,since he (Priapus)has mighty
testicles.30The phallusthusmakesan aggressivestatementcalculatedto scareoffthose whose
gaze might harm, and more generally,those whose intentionswere malign.3'
Doubtlesssome of the men and women who availedthemselvesof such deviceswill have
attributedother meanings to them. The phalluses that Ammonius, son of Apollophanes,
announces in A.D. 34/35 he has erected in the precinct of the goddess Atargatisin DuraEuropos, for the sake of his own safety and that of his children, would seem to reflect a
syncreticconception of the significanceof the device:32their part in the cult of the goddess
Atargatis,alreadyknownfromLucian'sDeDeaSyria(16, 28-29),33 has mergedwith their use
as apotropaicdevices affordingsafety.Nonetheless,it is clear both from representationsand
from inscriptionsaccompanyingsome phallusesthat ultimatelythe erect phallus (when used
as an apotropaeum)mainly representsa threat of buggery,although it may well be that it
could also signifyother forms of sexualviolence.34
Fourmonumentsmay be cited that explicitlysay the phallusis directedat the envious:
1)A floor mosaic fromThemetra in AfricaProconsularisimpliesthat it is mainly the capacity
of the enviousto cast the Evil Eye that is at issue.It shows an eye with a phalluspointing
down at it, and around this image is the inscription: "Whatyou see is for the envious;
may it go well for the good and ill for the evil."35
28 Similarly,Jahn1855, p. 76.
29
Cf. Fehling1974, pp. 18-27;Jocelyn 1980, p. 38. On loss of statusin Athensfromsubmittingvoluntarilyto
see Adams 1982, p. 124.
buggery,see Dover 1978, pp. 98-105. On the humiliationinflictedbypedicatio,
30 15.2-7: quicunque
Idicatforsitanhoc: "tibinequisnamIhic
attuleitmanusagello,Iis mesentietessenonspadonem.
interfrutices
locoremoto
sciatesseme?"sederrat: magnistestibus
istaresagetur.
Ipercisum
31
Bernand (1991, pp. 104-105) takesthe phallusto be a symbol of aggression.
32 Welles in Frye et al. 1955, no. 1, pp. 128-129:
&V5YELpEVtoCs cp&XXouq
'AI.q.6VLoq 'AntoXXocp&Vou
tp <5
x-c X
&aXou
XV&A)VGGYT)pEcXq.
Cf. Rostovtzeff1937, p. 204.
34 Herter in his comprehensivearticle on the phallus (1938, cols. 1683-1684) argues that the apotropaic
power of the phallus is a function of the creativeforce that it basically symbolizes. It is probably a fruitless
enterpriseto seekan originalmeaningfor the phallusfromwhich all othersderive.Such reductionistenterprises
tend to obscurethe multiplicityofmeanings thatsurroundsuchsymbols.Plutarch'sassertionthat the strangeness
of apotropaea draws the eyes of the envious away from the objects needing protection (Qwst. conviv.681f)
has been adoptedby some scholarsas an explanationfor the use of the phallusas an apotropaeum,while others,
following a lead providedby Pollux (7.108), have argued that the phallus was intended to arouse laughter or
shame and thus divertthe attentionof the envious(Wagner[1937, p. 80] combines both explanations;further
bibliographyin Herter,loc.cit.).It may well be that Plutarch'sexplanationhas some force,but it shouldbe borne
in mind that he draws attention to this aspect of apotropaeabecause it suits the theory he is propounding:
the Evil Eye is a stream of harmful particlesemanating from the eyes, which is especially dangerous if the
eyes are able to press hard on an object.
35 Foucher 1957, p. 178, fig. 13: invidiosibus
quodvidetisB(ene)
B(onis)M(ale)M(alis).
33
A KNIDIANPHALLICVASEFROMCORINTH
489
2) Fromthe north of Englandcomes an inscriptionwith the words "a penis for the envious";
to the right of these words is a large phallus.36
3) From Dalmatia, there is a stone shaped as a phallus that has inscribedon it "thisfor the
envious."37
4) Of uncertainprovenance,a ring without a representationof a phallus on it has inscribed
aroundit: "Dindaris,may you live. A penis for the envious."38
To these may be added an inscriptionfrom Saturniain southernEtruriathat almostcertainly
had a phallus, now lost, carved on the wall above or below it. It says: "Enviousone, who
cast your gaze here, for you this is the punishmentthat lies in wait."39
These monumentsleave little doubt that the phallus representsa threat to the envious.
Four other objects help define the character of the threat. Pride of place here should go
to a Late Roman bronze amulet with a leonine phallic monster engraved on it; above this
beast are the words "enjoygood health, emulate, but do not envy,"and below it is "a drill
for the rectumof the envious."40The phallusin this context representsthe threat
(rpu6Tcavov)
of anal penetration, that is, buggery.This act is graphicallyrepresentedon a block found
at Ephesos;carvedin reliefis a creaturewith a phallicbody and animallegs buggeringa man
with the tail of a beast, who bendsforwards.The assaultedfiguremustbe some sort of envious
demon.41 FromEgypt there is a terracottafigurinein the form of an ithyphallicboy on the
top of whose outsizedphallusrestsan eye; inscribedon its base are the words, "I have given
the eye of the envious one a thorough drilling (&ctp6ntrooc)."42
In this case, the Evil Eye
itself is threatenedwith buggery.Finally,from Moesia Superiorcomes a roof tile on which
is inscribed"enviousones, whoevershitson this will be buggered."43The expressionof envy
36
Collingwoodand Wright 1965, no. 983: []nvidiosismentula[m].
CILIII 14964: invidishoc.
CILIII 10189.16: Didari, vivas.et invidismentla.Forthe formulaname + vivason rings, cf. Marshall 1907,
no. 626, p. 105, pl. XVII (Olympivivas);no. 651, p. 109, fig. 97 (Mibivivas).
39 CILXI 7263: (s)taio loc(i)feix. (7)utela,Her(c)ules,
Fides,Fortunahic. invide,quispectas,hectibipoenamanet.
On the loss of the phallus, see Huelsen 1904, pp. 152-153; Svennung 1960, p. 977. For the figure of sexual
assaultwith the phallus as poena,cf. Corp.Piiap. 13, 23, 35, 51.3f, 27f., 63, 67; for the expressionpoenamanet
used of the threat of assaultby the phallus, cf. Corp.Priap.13: percidere
puella:Ibarbatumfurem
puer,moneo:
fiutuere
krtiapoenamanet.The parallelismbetween the poem and the inscriptionmakes Huelsen'ssuppositionvirtually
certain.
40 Schlumberger 1892, no. 4, pp. 78-79: 6tyLivet-c CTXoO P&aOxve -tcol
lro
POax&voLs XaXt& poxTou
tp6nxavov.
41 Keil 1926, cols. 74-275, pl. 58.
42 Weber 1914, no. 131, p. 100, pl. 12: 69pOAli6v&ne-cp6nYt
a t6cv to3 f3ax&vou. On tpunav meaning "to
screw", see Pfeifferon Callimachusfr. 689 Pf; and for the word used of the penalty of pedicatiothat Priapus
inflictson thieves, cf. API.243.6. In Latin, inforare(Plautus,Curc.401-402) and perforare
(Carm.Priap.76.3) are
used in the same way. See Adams 1982, p. 150.
43 CILIII 145991: invidiquicivishoccacafit
anus:ens.Originallypublishedby Ladek, Premerstein,and Vulic
(1901, no. 69, col. 151),who gloss hocby luw,cacafitby cacabit,and anusenisbyfitutus.The last phrase would be
more accuratelyrendered by pedicaberis.
At the bottom right-handcorner of the tile, to the right of the last
line of words, and filling the remainingfree space, there is a horizontalphalluspointing to the right.
The function of this roof tile is uncertain,but parallelsfrom elsewhere suggest that it may have warned
againstdesecratinga graveby defecatingon it. Defecation or urinationon graves:Petronius,Sat.71.8; CILIV
8899, VI 2357 (= CLE838), 3413, 13740. Gravesprotectedagainst envy: from Anatolia there is the formula
8q 7pOaO(a?L X?tpa tCv frp6p0o0vov o0tXccaxapoLq nepLtfaovoO aultpopacx (instancescollected by Gibson
[1978, pp. 16-20]); from ajewish graveof the 6th centuryafterChristat Auch in Provence: oculiinvidiosi
crepent
37
38
490
KATHLEEN W SLANE AND M. W DICKIE
in this instance manifestsitself not in casting the Evil Eye but in defecating on something.
Nonetheless,the penaltywith which the envious are threatenedremainsthe same.
Another category of evidence that demonstratesthe meaning of the apotropaicphallus
comprisessinglephalluses,phallicmonsters,or men with phallusesacompaniedby the words
xcL a6, xal aot, or et tibi,et tibisit,44and sometimeswith furtherexpressionsof aggression:
1) FromBeirut, a stone block on which is a squarewith raisedborders;within the square is
a phallus that has a bell hanging from its neck on a string as though it were a camel
or some other beast.45Two smaller phalluses are attached to the larger one. On the
border are inscribed the words na-ra'Lf3&axavoq,and below them in the square, xat
a6.46 The inscriptionmay be interpretedas follows: "it (sc.the phallus)will strikeyou
a blow, envious one; you too."47
2) A mosaic from the so-called House of the Evil Eye at Antioch-on-the-Orontes48shows
a dwarflikefigurewhose exaggeratedlymassivememberis directedback throughhis legs
at an eye, which is also being attackedby hostilebirdsand beasts and being pierced by a
tridentand a sword.Fromthe back of the dwarf'shead on each side protrudephalluses,
which also point towards the eye. Above the dwarf's head are the words xot au. He
himself has his back to the eye and faces forward,as though to avoid the eye's harmful
gaze. The eye is of the type known as the much-sufferingeye (7coX
ut80'
oc),
6Y0Mp8
which if engraved,accordingto the text known as the Testament
was supposed
of Solomon,
to neutralize oxaxovMa.49
(CIJ I 438, no. 671); for Priapusprotecting a grave: custossepulripenedestritodeusj Priapusegosum. mortiset
vitailocus(CILVI 3708, 5173 [= CLE 193]). For discussionof the significanceof phalluses as grave markers
and of phallic amuletsin graves,see Herter 1938, cols. 1728-1733 and RACX, 1979, col. 16, s.v. Genitalien
(H. Herter).The suggestionof Ladeketal. (loc.cit.)that the rooftile was placed with inscriptionto the outsideon
the roof of a building to warn fellow citizens against soiling the building cannot be discounted entirely,but
it fails to take account of the many uses to which roof tiles could be put. On warningsin general againstsoiling
by defecationor urination,see Fehling 1974, p. 34; RACX, 1979, col. 21, s.v.Genitalien (H. Herter).
44 On these formulas, see Engemann 1975, p. 34; Robert 1978, p. 326 with note 1. Henri Seyrig (in
Tchalenko1958, App. II, p. 26) arguesthat c6, when it occursin the formulaxactc, is a mistakefor the dative
sot. Both formulasmake perfectlygood sense;xactai means "mayyou also sufferill";while xa sot means "to
you too". So also Guarducci 1974, p. 325, note 1. Sometimes added to the formula are the words xi& B&tX&;
cf. IGLS1429, 1444; Seyrig,op.cit.,App. II, no. 24, pp. 25-26. The natureof the ill that the formulaxalt c, xat
sot, or et tibi threatenswill vary with circumstances;in some cases it will promise retributionin the precise
form taken by the evil to be warded off. It is hard to believe that the formula is meant to warn the envious
that they too will be visitedby the Evil Eye, as Robert (1978, note 11) has suggested.
45 For bells as apotropaea, see RE VIA, 1937, cols. 1408-1409, s.v. Tintinnabulum (G. Herzog-Hauser);
Delatte 1954, pp. 254-276. For bells dangling from phallic monsters: Museo Nazionale, Naples, RP inv. nos.
27831, 27837, 27855, 27873, 27835; illustratedin Grant 1982, pp. 140-142.
46 Mordtmann 1885, p. 165.
47 On verbs of hitting and piercing as figures for sexual congress in Aristophanes,see Henderson (1975,
pp. 170-173), who suggests(no. 309, p. 171) that na-cXT4OOs
may have such a sense at Com.Adesp.798 (Kock)
= [Lucian],Amor.53. This is almostcertainlyso. See also Adams 1982, pp. 145-149 on wordsmeaning "strike"
and the like for sexual congressin Latin.
48
Levi 1947, pp. 28-34, pl. IV
49 P. 19.38-40 McCown (not earlierthan 2nd centuryafter Christ).
A KNIDIANPHALLICVASEFROMCORINTH
491
3) FromDurazzo (Dyrrachium),50a very large marbleblock5l (tojudge from its proportions
part of the wall of a house) shows in relief Mercuryadvancingto the left with his head
turned to the right.52 He is wearing a petasosand loincloth below which hang large
testicles; a massive phallus emerging from his loins ends perhaps in the forepart of a
horned beast. A second huge phalluscomes from his buttocksand risesto the level of his
shoulders,there to be borne on a stave restingon his shoulders.53The phallus dangles
over the stave so that its glans faces the spectator;the god holds the stave with both
hands. A dog springsforwardto the left from in front of Mercury'sright foot; inscribed
between the god's legs are the words et tibi.
4) From Akrai in Sicily, a stone plaque in relief shows a winged lion whose head and tail
are phalluses;it is inscribedxocto6.54
5) FromEgypt, a double phalluswith xcd a6 above it.55
6) FromKfar Deria in the region of Antioch, a cisternmade from a block of rock;inscribed
on it is a phallusand to the left of the phallus,xxl GU.56
50 Degrand 1901, p. 181; Picard 1927, p. 27; Herter 1938, col. 1728.
51
Height more than 1.80 m.; width more than 0.60 m. (rightside broken);thickness0.50 m. It is difficultto
see how such a large block can have been part of a doorway as Picard (1927, p. 25) supposes. With it may
be compared the phallus set into the brickworkof the outer wall of a Pompeiian house (illustratedin Grant
1982, p. 30).
52 Representationsof Hermes and Mercury were used to ward off evil in general. A recently published
inscriptionon a statuebase from the Cilician Gate that calls upon Mercuryto driveaway clouds of locustswith
his wand makesthis clear: tuumenimsimulacrum
hocin locostatIponendum
adproventumfrugum
etadsalutar[e]
Iremedium
locorum
et nationum
harum(Varinlioglu1988, pp. 59-64, v. 3-5). IthyphallicMercuryswith fantasticphalluses
are known from Delos and Pompeii: a marble relief from a Delian shop shows a Mercury whose enormous
phallus ends in the head of a ram, on which the god rests his left hand (DelosIX, fig. 89, p. 193). A bronze
lamp from Pompeii is an even closer parallel: it consists of Mercury riding as it were on two phalluses, one
emerging from his loins, the other from his buttocks;the glans of the former phallus is decorated with rams
horns;two bells hang from the frontphallus,threefromthe rear,and one fromeach of Mercury'sfeet (illustrated
in Barre 1862, pl. 46, pp. 197-201). Iconographicallyrelated to the lamp is a bronze tintinnabulum,
also from
Pompeii,that has Mercuryridingon a ram representednaturalisticallyexcept for an enormous phallus(Museo
Nazionale, Naples, RP inv.no. 27855; illustratedin Grant 1982, p. 141).A bronze statueof Mercury0.27 m. in
height shows an ithyphallicMercuryfrom the sides of whose head emerge two enormous horizontalphalluses,
their ends hung with bells, while two additionalphallusessproutfrom the top of his helmet (Museo Nazionale,
Naples, RP inv.no. 27854; illustratedin Grant 1982, p. 134).
53 A relief from Delos shows a man facing backwardstowardsa giant phallus issuing from his buttocksand
curvingup behind his back to emerge above his shoulders;he graspsthe glans with his left hand; a smaller,but
stillpreternaturallylarge,phallusemergesfromhis loins to face forwards;his righthand is raisedabove his head
and holds a phallic monster,which faces in the directionof the phallus that runs up his back (Marcade 1973,
no. 5, pp. 332-333, fig. 5). A badly preservedpainting below the stairsof a shop in Pompeii (1, 6, 12) shows
a male figure with one phallus coming from his groin, which points towardsthe Via dell' Abbondanza, and
another emerging from his buttocks,which is directed at the door leading into the back of the shop. Both
phallusesare ejaculating(Pompeii:
Pitre e mosauic
I, p. 399, pl. 3).
54 IG XIX 233. Descriptionfrom Herter (1938, col. 1725).
55 El-Khachab 1956, p. 119, p1.I:1.
56 IGLS579, where the phallus is interpretedas an amphora and the inscriptionread as xeat; the correct
interpretationis given by Seyrig (1934, p. 26).
492
KATHLEEN W SLANE AND M. W DICKIE
The evidence of the last three pieces is less specificconcerning the nature of the threat, but
the body of materialas a whole strengthensthe theory that the phallusthreatensthe envious
with buggeryin retributionfor the harm they might do.
Some further light is shed on the intent of the formula xx)l a6 by two rectangular
marblepanels from Delos, which show in relieftwo phallic monsterswith phallusesas heads
confrontingeach other.Between and below the monsterson one panel are the words coi)Oro
The relationship
on the other panel, -coi-cocol j xocl-coO3coimoL.58
4,uolIxacl -CoG-osoL;57
of the plaques to each other is a mystery.The inscriptionis most simply interpretedas one
phallic monster speakingto the other and telling his fellow that for the one in the eye he
has received he will repay him with the same. The two plaques, accordingly,suggest very
stronglythat when xac a6 accompaniesthe representationof a phallus it means xocl'oGro
coL. The formula in such a context is then the equivalentof the hocinvidisthat we find on
the stone phallusfrom Dalmatia (p. 489 above).
An apotropaic lintel inscriptionfrom Hifsin, where the road from Damascus divides
forJerusalemand Nawa, puts into words the threat implied in representationsof phalluses
accompaniedby xocl c6 (etc.):59 HIYriEON KE ET = TC6yLsov xac% 6.60 It seems unlikely
that this is a challenge to the envious to bugger,with the threat that they will get twice as
much back if they do, as the oringnaleditor suggested. It should rather be construed as a
threat to the envious that they will meet with buggery and is reinforcedby the formulaic
xoclo6. The aoristimperativeis not to be construedliterallyas a commandbut as a threat.As
a(Ewrittenretrogradeon a gold ring
such it will have a force equivalentto the words tuyL'a&
of unknownprovenance,which should be interpretedas a threat directed at the envious.61
on
Here the threat is the same as that found on the ring with the words et invidismentulam
it;62 and this time it is expressedvisuallyin the form of a phalluson the bezel of the ring.63
Priapeorum
also shed
A number of poems in the PlanudeanAnthology and in the Corpus
light on the meaning of the phallusas an apotropaeum.It is true that in these poems Priapus'
function is to protect gardensfrom thieves,but that does not mean his phallus does not have
the same significanceas phallusesdirected primarilyagainst the Evil Eye. In three poems
in the CorpusPriapeorum,
the phallus is conceived of as a weapon. Two of them (9 and 20)
make play with the idea thatjust as other gods have their particularweapons, so also does
Priapushave the phallusas his weapon. In the thirdpoem (11),Priapuswarnsthievesthat the
harm he does them will be done with neithera club nor a sicklebut that they will be pierced
through and stretchedout by a foot-long pole that will take the creases out of their anus.64
Marcade 1973, no. 1, pp. 329-330, fig. 1.
58 Marcade 1973, no. 2, pp. 330-332, fig. 2.
59 Mouterde 1959, no. 6, pp. 63-66 = Robert and Robert 1961, no. 785, p. 251.
60 On WuyLCeLv,
see Bain 1991, pp. 67-70.
61 Catalogue
of theCollectonof AncientRingsE. Guillzou,
Sotheby's, 12.xi.1937, no. 402. The interpretationof
the intent of the inscriptionis that of Robert and Robert 1973, no. 552, p. 208.
62 Note 38 above.
63 Cf. Marshall 1907, nos. 254-257, p. 44 (not illustrated),which are illustratedinJohns 1982, second plate
between pp. 64 and 65; apotropaicgemstonesfor rings: Fossing1929, nos. 35, 34, pl. I; Zwierlein-Diehl1969,
no. 408b, p. 156, pl. 72; eadem1973, no. 537, p. 163, pl. 90. On rings that ward off noxious creaturesand
the Evil Eye, cf. Sch.inAristophanes,Plut.884.
64 1 1.1-4: prensonecfustenocebo,
contosic extendere
dabo;Itraiectus
pedali,Iut culum
Isaevanecincurvawblnerafalce
rugamnonhabuisseputes.
A KNIDIAN PHALLICVASE FROM CORINTH
493
generallyof a violent
The harm that the phallusas a weapon threatensis primarilypedicatio,
and alarmingform.65Priapusthreatensto ram his phallusdeep into his victims,66rightup to
the hilt.67
Priapeorum
a differentiationis made
Althoughpedicatiois the main threat, in the Corpus
in the punishment Priapus threatens depending on the nature of the offence and on the
for a second, and pedicatioand
offender.Pedicatio
is the penalty for a first offence, irrumatio
irrumatio
for a third delinquency (35.1-5).68 On the other hand, if the thief is a girl or a
bearded man ratherthan a boy, other penalties are in order:fututiofor the girl and irrumatio
for the man.69This neat divisionmay be little more than a literaryconceit. It may not have
occurred to most people to make any such differentiation.We should in any case bear in
and irrumatio.70
Five spellsand
mind that women also could be and were subjectedto pedicatio
a recipe for a spell from Egypt, all of which are to prevent another man from enjoying a
woman's sexual favors, specify bothfitutio and pedicatioand in three of the spells, irrumatio
orfellatioas well.71
suggests that the phallus representsa threat of
The evidence of the CorpusPriapeorum
for
older
men, andjututiofor women. There is, however,
pedicatio boys or youths, irrumatio
for
no hint of such a differentiationin the monuments that have been cited here. It is hard to
know what to make of this. One solution would be that fear of the Evil Eye has no very
clear focus and is a nonspecific anxiety about malicious beings. To infer from the threat
of pedicatioas the primarymessage of the phallus that young males were the main suspects
would certainly be rash, just as it would be rash to conclude that because the envious in
apotropaicinscriptionsare always addressedin the masculine singularor plural vocatives,
males are alwaysthe objectsof suspicion.The explanationofferedhere is that grammatically
the masculinegender is used genericallyto apply to both men and women.
That a phallus may representa hostile threat specificallyaimed at the Evil Eye is to
be seen also on mosaics and lamps, where the phallus is among the manifestlydangerous
and hostile creaturesand instrumentsattackingthe much-sufferingeye. One mosaic of the
much-suffering-eyetype, from the thresholdof a Roman villa at Sousse in Algeria, shows the
eye encircled by two snakes,which attack it from above; between the heads of the snakes
is a large phallus boring down on the eye, also from above;72the glans of the penis appears
also like the head of a snake. The mosaic from Antioch-on-the-Orontes(p. 490 above) is
a more complex example of the same theme. Finally,on the discus of a FirmaLampe(late
65
API.240, 241; Corp.Priap.6.4-6; 11.1-4; 15.1-7; 25.1-7; 28.1-5; 31.3-4; 51.3-4; 76.3; 77.8.
Corp.Priap.6.4-6; 11.1-4; 25.1-7; 28.1-5; 51.3-4.
67
coleorum.
25.6-7: intraviscerafinsibitusqueIadpubemcapulumque
68
Iquodsi tamgravisetmolesta
altioratangam.
poenaj nonprofecenit,
Cf. 28.3-5: pedicaberefascinopedali
j
69
illenates;13.1-2: percidere
mihivirvepuerve, haeccunnum,
caputhicpraebeat,
22.1-2: feminasiflurtumfaciet
puer,
tertiapoena
manet.
moneo;futuerepuella;
Ibarabatumfrem
70 On
the former,see Dover 1978, pp. 100-101. Spartanmaidens, before they married,were supposed to
have had anal intercourse(Athenaeus 13.602d). Young Roman brides might in their inexperience and fear
askfor it (Martial11.78; Corp.Priap.3). Cf. also API.3.49, 6.17.
71 Fututioand pedicatio:PGM 4.352-353: Vt f3
; SEG XXVI 1717.8; Martinez
wVO5T, Vh auOtcaLGO
1991, lines 8, 22. Fututio,pedicatio,and irrumatio:SEG XXXVIII.1837.21-22: ,* ,LVoj, Vh JuyLOOf, Vh
[XaL]xa0[n]; SB 7452.9-10: 6tcaq Vh pewV0h, p? tuytaOh, Vh XBex&ah;Martin 1928, pp. 56-64: V.n5e
66
3LVJOTVaL, I5TE TuyLaLOTVaL, V5TE
72
no.
Gauckler 1910,
XJX6?ELV.
73, p. 32. Cf. Perdrizet1922, p. 31.
494
KATHLEEN W SLANE AND M. W DICKIE
1st century after Christ and later, probablyItalian), arranged clockwise around the filling
hole, are a scorpion whose pincers embrace the fillinghole, a phallus, a frog, and a snail.73
The fillinghole here clearlytakesthe place of an eye.
But neither the assumption that envy manifests itself solely in the Evil Eye nor the
assumptionthat the phallus is directed only at the Evil Eye of Envy should be too easily
made. The roof tile from Moesia Superior (pp. 489-490 above) that shows a phallus and
threatenswith pedicatiothe envious who defecate on something in its vicinity confutes both
assumptions.Whoever had that inscriptionwritten clearlyimagined that the envious might
try to demean by soiling with their excrement whatever it was he wanted to protect.74
Other inscriptionswarn against even more direct expressionsof envy that seek to destroy,
by straightforwardphysical means, envied objects or the possessions of a person who has
aroused envy. In the bottom right-handcorner of a poster from Pompeii is the prayer that
any envious person who erases the poster may become sick.75In the inscriptionsset up by
Antiochus I of Kommagene in connection with his establishinga hierothesion
for Mithridates
Kallinikosat Arsameia on the Nymphaios, various categoriesof persons who might harm
the monument are specified;among them is the man who concealsthe hatredof his envy and
whose eyes waste away at the sight of the goods of others. That man is threatenedwith a
variety of punishments, if he should direct words of hostile intent, a mind hating what is
fair,or an envious hand against Mithridates'foundation.76Grave inscriptionsfrom central
Anatolia threatenwith unseasonablemisfortunesthose who bring a hand heavy-ladenwith
envy against the tomb.77 The danger that the Mithridatesinscriptionand those from the
gravestry to guard againstis that someone out of envy should deface the tomb.
THE MOTIF OF SELF-STRANGULATION
The representationon the top part of C-27-37 of a person choking himself is also
apotropaicin intent. The left hand clutching the throat, the mouth grinning in rictus, the
bulging eyes, and the head twisted towards the right are all part of the iconography of
choking.The closest parallelis providedby a bronze statuette,probablyAlexandrian,from
the Demetriou Collectionin the NationalArchaeologicalMuseum in Athens (inv.no. 447).78
It is an ithyphallicgrotesque:both hands clutchhis throat,his mouth showsa grinningrictus,
73 Jahn 1855, p. 100, pl. IV 1; in addition to the gem cited by Jahn on which a snail and a phallus are
combined, there is a bronze tintinnabulum
from Herculaneumin the form of a winged phallus emerging from
a snail'sshell (Museo Nazionale, Naples, RP inv.no. 27831; imustratedin Grant 1982, p. 140).
74 For the topos of the ultimate humiliationenvy inflicts taking the form of turning the statues of a great
man into chamberpots, cf. Strabo 9.1.20; Diogenes Laertius5.77;Juvenal 10.56-64.
75 CILIV 3775: invidiose
quidelesaegrotes.
76 (bVihV &t73OuXoV
4 Voi3VLCLO6Xp?)lov
4 X xtpacpoa$pfp f3&axaVoV
(Goell
hjlC-CpOL5 XaOL8p4aXOLv
and D6rner 1963, lines 217-221, p. 56). D6rrie in his commentaryon the inscription(1964, p. 112)takesthese
to be three differentforms of magic-workingand supposesthe Piaxavo, XeEpto be a magicalgestureor touch.
77 See note 43 above.
78 Dunbabin and Dickie 1983, pl. 4:a, b.
A KNIDIAN PHALLICVASEFROMCORINTH
495
his nostrilsflareopen, his nose ends in a hookedpoint,79and his head and body are twistedto
the right.
The keys to the interpretationof the fairlylarge class of representationsmainly of men
with theirhands;at,theirthroat,eitherthrottlingthemselvesor choking,are a passagein Silius
Italicus describingLivor and a mosaic from Kephalloniaportrayingthe figure of T06voq.
Livor,accordingto Silius, is to be seen in the Underworldcompressinghis own throat with
both hands (13.584);80he is in the company of variousother unhappyforces.On the mosaic
a young man clutches his throat with both hands and is attackedby four great cats.81The
accompanying epigram (SEG 19.409) identifies him as a representationof 06voc; in his
self-inflictedmisery:
'VQ OP6ve,xalt ao[]
r5va 6Xos cppev6q,
Ex6va yp&k
fv Kp&tcpos Oxa-co XacLviyv,
Cwyp&cpor.,
c) VE`r'&Vp&aLV, &XX'(L OVv-tiV
0CX&-tL EL[u'5EL(
t6cM &iS[cp]e[&]Xou.
lr&VTEawLV
&V6STLO5,
Icra06LtX4u*
6XPoL0 fzaUX[a](v&WOaXti.a
'EaT[A6]L 8[]
crr(yLOV
xe86vo5 pOovpiiivBeyiap (pEpcoW
This image of O66voris a way of representingthe extreme unhappiness the success of
others engenders in the envious man. The envious man was thought to choke or burst
with his suppressedand frustratedrage.82 A further indication that the motif of a man
stranglinghimself symbolized Envy and was designed to ward off the Evil Eye is seen in
representationsof men stranglingthemselves,surroundedby the same menagerie of birds
and beasts that attack the much-sufferingeye.83 There is little room for doubt that one
79 A similar nose is the salient feature of a Knidian plastic vase shaped in the form of a man's face; it was
found in the houses east of the Theater at Corinth. See Williamsand Zervos 1986, no. 9, p. 143, pl. 31. We are
indebted to Guy Sandersfor this observation.
80 Hincangens
utraque
manusuaguttura
Livor.The inspirationfor the passageas a whole is Vergil,Aen.6.273-283,
althoughno mention of Livoris made there. Claudian,InRuf 1.32-33 providesa parallelfor Silius'inclusionof
Livor among the pests of Erebus and for his descriptionof Livor'sanguish: Livorque
Isecundisanxius.For the
limitationsof a purelylexical approachto the interpretationof iconographyin literature,cf. Spaltenstein 1990,
p. 255 on 13.584: "(Sil.)proposeune imaginationpittoresqueet suggestivequi semble unique (du moins, il n'y a
pas de parallelepour 'livor'dans le TLL 7,2,1549,65, sinon Claud. 3.32)."
81 Kallipolitis 1961-1962, pp. 12-18, pls. 3-5; Dunbabin and Dickie 1983, pls. 1:a, b, 2:a.
82 Choking: Galen, De compos.
medic.(KUhn13.406, Comm.inHippocrnd. hom.,praef:13 CMG5.9.1); Libanius,
Or. 1.207, Decl. 5.32, 30.18, 38.22, 51.27; Eusebius, Comm.in ps. PG 23.533, 537; John Chrysostom, Hom.
in Matth.PG 57.453, In illud: Coll.Iud. PG 59.528; mosaic inscriptionfrom baths at Sullecthum in Tunisia
(Beschaouch 1968, p. 61): enperfectacitobaiaru(m)
gratavoluptas
I dantesque
fluuntaq(uae)saxi derupesub ima.
nisibus
hic
nostris
prostratus
libor
anhelat.
quisquis
veniat
mecwn(que)
laetetur.
Bursting:PhiloJudaeus,In
amatfrautum
I
I
Flacc.29; Dio Chrysostom43.2; Lucian, Tun.40; AeliusAristeides50.69 (Keil);Libanius,Or.1.207, 29.13, Decl.
29.28, Prog.9.4.11; Eunapius, V.S.6.2.3; Himerius 45.44;Julian, Ep. 82 446a; Eusebius 10.4.14, Comm.inps.
PG 23.1328; Asterius,Hom. 7.10.2 (Datema);Vergil, Ecl. 7.25-26; Ovid, Rem.389, Ep. her.15.223; Martial
9.97.1-2; CILIV 8259.
83 Two lamps from Ephesos: Dunbabin and Dickie 1983, p. 25, pl. 5:a, b = Vienna, Kunsthistorisches
Museum, inv. no. 1925/V and Walters 1914, no. 1325, pp. 198-199, pl. XXXVI (now = Bailey 1988,
no. Q 3099, p. 381, pl. 104, figs. 26, 144). Two lamp fragmentsfromJerash: Dunbabin and Dickie 1983,
p. 25, pl. 5:c, d =Jerusalem, RockefellerMuseum 38.1791-1792, Iliffe 1945, nos. 146-148, pp. 23-24, pl. VIII.
Fragmentsof three terracotta relief plaques from the Athenian Agora: Dunbabin and Dickie 1983, p. 25,
496
KATHLEEN W SLANE AND M. W DICKIE
symbolic representationof Envy has been substitutedfor another.An agate amulet in the
collectionof Henri Seyrigshowsa man stranglinghimselfas he is being attackedby birdsand
beasts;aroundthe edge of the amulet are the words pO6ve&rUXt.84
The idea representedvisuallyin C-27-37 is given verbalform in apotropaicinscriptions
and graffitiexpressingthe wish that the enviousmay burst.In the Greek East the wish takes
two forms: the more or less formulaic6 pOoviiv oy4r8a5 and the same wish for 6 pOov&3v
In the LatinWest the verbs rumpere
expressedwith some part of the verb Xcaxeiv/XcaxCeLv.86
and crepare
are employedto expressthe same wish. The wish is found twice on mosaics from
North Africa87and once on ajewish gravestonefrom Auch in Provence.88
OTHER WAYSOF PRESENTING THE MISERYOF ENVY
Objects with the motif of self-strangulationor choking belong to a larger class of
apotropaicdevices that show the physical effects envy was supposed to have on those who
succumbedto it. Representationsof men or women tearingtheir abdomens open with both
hands or being laceratedby great cats stand for the internalwounds the envious inflict on
themselves.89Emaciated and skeletal figures show the wasting caused by the unrelieved
miseryof envy.90These motifswere often employedin conjunction.91The rationalebehind
their use was the expectation that to throw in the face of the envious the consequences of
their vice would in some way deter them.
The underlyingthoughtbehind these representationsof the enviousin physicaltorment
and behind inscriptionsexpressingthe wish that the envious may burst is that anguish is a
necessaryconcomitantofqO6voc/invidia. Withrelativelyminorvariations,ancientdefinitions
of q0Ovoc/invidiamake unhappiness(X6nr/aegritudo)
causedby the good fortuneof othersthe
pl. 6:a-c = Agora
VI, nos. 1065, 1066, p. 80, pl. 30. Fragmentof a mold for a plaque from the Kerameikos:
Dunbabin and Dickie 1983, p. 25, pl. 6:d. RelieffromXanthos: Dunbabin and Dickie 1983, pp. 25-27, pl. 7:a,
b = Smith 1900, no. 956, pp. 59-60.
84
Bonner 1950, no. D 148, pp. 97, 277, pl. VII.
85 Deir el-Meyyash(Syria):6
U yp0(ovEv)oay4rvc(&&yv)ttL)(Dussaudand Macler 1901, p. 183; Perdrizet
[1900, p. 293] expandedthe abbreviationto cpOo
[vep6&],but the examplesofthe formulathat have come to light
since suggest pO[ovCav]).
Breike(Syria):6 cpOov&Sv
aytjca (Dunand 1934, no. 77, p. 51). Mampsis (Palestine):
6 qOav&Sv
(pOov6v) y~jrtc(Negev 1988, no. 248, pp. 114-115, photo 141, fig. 16; correct interpretation
by Feissel [1990, no. 954, p. 612]).
86 Rome?: ctk ZEcq Epi,tL:
P6axxvoq XiExvBcitc(Perdrizet1922, p. 293). Dura-Europos: 6 cpOov&av
Xaxta[On](Wellesin Frye et al. 1955, no. 31, p. 153). Nessana (Palestine):6 pOov(Zv)Xaxxa(rca) (NessanaI,
no. 106, p. 177).
87 Ain-Temouchent(Algeria):invida
sidereo
rumpanturpectora
visu(de Pachtere 1911, no. 318, p. 75). Cherchell
(Algeria):legeet crepa(ibid.,no. 441, p. 106).
88 Cited note 43 above.
89 On the figure of the envious wounding themselves and on apotropaic renderings of that image, see
Dunbabin and Dickie 1983, pp. 13-15 and 21-22, with pls. l:a, b, 3:c, e.
90 On wastingand emaciationin the enviousand on representationsof it, see Dunbabinand Dickie, pp. 15-16
with pls. 2:b, 3:a, b, 4:a, b.
91 Emaciationand choking: Dunbabin and Dickie 1983, pls. 2:b, 3:a, b, 4:a, b; choking and tearing open
abdomen: pls. 1:a, b; 3:d, e.
A KNIDIANPHALLICVASEFROMCORINTH
497
essence of the concept.92Whether or not it is a wholly satisfactorydefinitionhardlymatters
forpresentpurposes.Whatis importantis the emphasisplaced on the unhappinessassociated
This concernperhapsreflectsthe preoccupationthat ancientmoralizing
with qOo6vor/invidiza.
displayswith this aspect of envy.Rather than concentratingon the malice inherent in envy
most ancient moralizingprefersto dwell on the disadvantagesof succumbingto envy.93
One rhetoricallyeffectiveway of bringingout the self-inflictedmiserythe enviousimpose
on themselveswas to say that at least cpOovo,harmed or hurt its possessormore than anyone
else.94The conceit was encapsulatedin an epigram of the Hellenistic period (AP 11.193),
which had it that while cyo6vogwas an ill, it had somethinggood about it in that it caused the
eyes of the envious and their heartsto waste away:
6
pOvoq 04oxaxoV &atLV: {X?L 8TL xaXbV EV a6TVP:
6iva-a
xal xpabX&v.
xTXELyap
Oovepxv(6V
The epigram, or a version of it, ISused as an apotropaeumon a gravestonefrom Lyon95
and on a pillar that was part of a church in Dokimeion in Phrygia.96The description of
the wasting effect envy has on the eyes of the envious will no doubt have encouraged the
use of the epigram as an apotropaeumagainstthe Evil Eye of Envy.
The combinationin one object of apotropaicsymbolsbased on very differentrationales
is common. Many of the representationsof men choking also have a phallus; the bronze
figurine from the Demetriou Collection (pp. 494 495 above) is a clear example.97 The
Knidian plastic vase studied here is essentiallya representationin a differentform of the
combined motifs of choking and phallus found in figurines.The motifs were undoubtedly
combined in the conviction that the apotropaeumwould be all the more potent and that
one could not be too safe.
THE CORINTH VASE:PARALLELS
A second, fragmentaryphallic vessel from Corinth (P1.86:a) is probably related to the
first. C-34-2547 is a single fragment from the lower top and left side of a vessel made in
the same way and on the same scale as the other container.98Its fabric is not, at firstglance,
92
Cf [Plato] Def;416; Xenophon, Mem.3.9.8; Aristode, EN 1108b 4-5, Rhet.1387b 22-25; Cicero,Tusc.
4.16.
93 Cf 15.13; Menander,fr.538 (Korte3);Lucretius3.75-77; Horace, Epist.1.3.56-59; Seneca, Dial. 9.2.10-
11).
94 Cf Carcinus,fr. 8 (Snell);Isocrates9.6; Philemo, fr. 131 (Kock).
95 IGXIV 2533.
96 Perdrizet1922, pp. 291-292.
97 A terracottafigurine from Smyrna, now in the Louvre, shows a man choking himself; there is a hole
for what must have been an oversizedphallus(Dunbabinand Dickie 1983, pl. 2:b = Besques 1972, no. D 1211,
pl. 241:b). Another terracottafigurine, purchasedin Cairo, shows an emaciated man with his hands raised
to his throat; an oversizedphallus stretchingdown between his legs is directed at an eye that lies at his feet
(Dunbabinand Dickie 1983, pl. 3:b = Graindor 1939, no. 49, p. 131, pl. XVIII).
98 Preservedlength 0.123 m., width 0.044 m.
498
KATHLEENW SLANE AND M. W DICKIE
typicallyKnidian because it is too darkand the slip is unmottled,99but detailed comparison
with C-27-37 suggeststhat it is of the same fabricand thereforealso Knidian. The context is
not dependablebut may be 2nd century.100
Once again, only the front of the vessel appearsto have been decoratedwith relief.The
tip was a phallus, the detail subtlymodeled ratherthan incised as on the first example. On
the shaftaboveis a panel definedby a ridgeparallelingthe foreskinand by a concave ridge on
the left side. A braid pattern in relief echoes the lower edge of the panel. Above the braid,
the panel contains a T-shapedobject like a fishtail,coming obliquelydownwardsto the left;
above this going obliquely up to the left is the end of a phallus. This design is difficultto
reconstruct.The T-shapedobject might be the foot of a bird with a spur extending from the
heel.101A phallus-headedbird with similarspurredfeet appearsbeside a figure of Envy on
two lampsfromJerash.102The phallusand the feet may then be the remainsof a phallic bird.
There is little doubt that the two vessels from Corinth should be closely associated.
The similarityof form, technique of manufacture,and date, and the identity of source and
subjectmake this clear.A few more examplesof closely relatedforms can be adduced.103A
similarvessel, now in Cracow,with a beardedmask at the top and a naturalisticallydetailed
phallus below, may also be Knidian (P1.86:b, c).104It has a laurel band similar to that
on C-34-2547 marking the foreskin,and on the back is inscribed what may be a prayer:
EQEIOIKOEIEHETAIXOEHKAAH. The inscriptionruns verticallydown the back of
the vessel in the same fashionas the inscriptionon C-27-37. The maskmight be identifiedas
Priapus.105The vessel is slightlyshorterand narrowerthan the examples in Corinth, and
the handle is moldmade like a lamp handle, but it must belong to the same type. A fourth
vesselof the same generalshape,with a phallic end but decoratedwith floralgarlandsand of
a slightlydifferentfabric, is in the New ArchaeologicalMuseum in Izmir;106in technique
of manufactureand details of the handle it is close to C-27-37. A Knidian fragment from
Benghazi with handle and vine wreath in relief should also belong to this form, although
its phallic end is not preserved.'07
99 Hard-fired,light-redfabric (2.5YR 6/8) with a moderate amount of small white and gray inclusionsand
a greater amount of tiny white bits (possiblylime), one fleck of gold mica visible on the interior surface. A
low-lusterred slip (2.5YR 5/6-5/8) totally coversthe exteriorsurfaceso far as it is preserved.
100 C-34-2547 was formerlyMF-4184. The vessel comes from behind the South Stoa. The context pottery,
markedNorth of School, box 918, is mostly Roman to the middle or the second half of the 2nd century but
contains also some Byzantine sherds (12th/ 13th century),which are most likely to representa pit or robbing
trench unrecognizedduring excavation.
101 We owe to CharlesWilliamsthe suggestionthat the T-shape is a foot.
102 Dunbabin and Dickie 1983, p. 25, pl. 5:c, d =Jerusalem, RockefellerMuseum 38.1791, 1792.
103 A small, two-handledphallic rhyton with a Priapushead in the Beugnot collection is only distantlyrelated, because it is clearly a drinkingvessel. Cf. CVA,Musee de Compiegne [France3], pls. 18 [116]:20 and
30 [128]:1; it seems likely to be earlierthan the type discussedhere (4th centurybefore Christor Hellenistic).
104 CVA,Cracow,Musee Czartoryski[Poland2], pl. 14 [68]:9 a, b, p.
17, inv. no. 1239 (now MNK XI- 1239).
105 Cf Breccia 1930, inv.no. 9625, pl. LI:5, discussedunder no. 215, p. 49.
106 No. 4685, on displaywith objectsfrom Iasosand presumablyfound there.We thankKatherineDunbabin
and ElizabethGebhardfor firstbringingthis piece to our attention.
107 Kenrick 1985, B497. 1, p. 333, fig.63 and pl. XXI fromthe early3rd-centurydeposit 84. Kenrickidentifies
the shape as a cylindricalmug, but its dimensionsand its handle appear to match C-27-37. Another phallic
vase, probablyof Knidian manufacture,is mentioned by Bailey (1979, p. 266, note 2).
A KNIDIANPHALLICVASEFROMCORINTH
499
The function of such phallic vases emerges most clearly from the vase in Cracow.
The inscriptionon the back (P1.86:c), althoughdifficultto interpret,casts direct light on the
functionofthe vase. The one wordthat can be securelydeciphered,OCOOc(oloX,is sufficientto
indicatethe purposeof the vessel: protectionof the house. ApolloniusSophistesin his Lexicon
Homercum
says that Apion (fr. 133 [Neitzel 1977]) understooda&xoc, an epithet applied to
Hermes in Homer,to derivefrom cmaLtolxoc(s.v.a&^xog).108Althoughthis is in all likelihood
a falseetymology,109its inspirationwould almostcertainlyhavebeen the protectiveithyphallic
herms that stood outsidehouses."10There is, then, in Apion'sexplanationan indicationthat
might have been used of apotropaicdevices designed to protect houses.
aoacyLoLxoq
The lamplike shape and size of the handle suggest that the Cracow vessel was meant
to be suspended or perhaps hung on a nail.111The ring handles on C-27-37 and on the
Benghazi example may easily have served the same purpose ratherthan being intended to
help one hold the vessels.Similarhandles(one with a linkof a terracottachain stillpreserved)
occur on a numberof maskswith (winged)phallusessuspendedwithin the mawlikemouths;
these have been found in Pompeii and at other nearbysites.112
Holes for suspensionare found on almost all the apotropaicfigurinesdiscussedabove.
The face on the frontof the vesselin Cracowbelongs to a categoryof faces or masksthat
seem to have been thought to scare off evil. Such faces are characterizedby wide, staring
eyes and open mouths. Although the iconography of the face is specificallyinspired by
representationsof Priapus, it probably did not matter greatly to those using the vessel
whether the face was that of Priapus,Bes, or Silenus. All that mattered to them was that
shaggy-headedithyphallicdeities scared off evil. There is the evidence of Pliny the Elder
that what he calls satuicasina were set up in gardens and the forum as protection against
fascinationby the envious.113Saturica
s4napresumablyencompassesstatuesof shaggy-headed
108 SimilarilyHesychius,sv. a&xoc: acaaEoLXo, a(oLXos.
109 So Chantraine 1968-1980, s.v.atixoc.
110 So also Neitzel 1977, pp. 202, 208.
111A similarsuggestionmay be advanced concerning U-70-28, a moldmade lamp in the form of a winged
phallus with testicles, for which see Wiseman 1972, no. 12, pp. 20-21, pl. 9. An ordinary moldmade lamp
handle on its top suggeststhat it would have been suspendedhorizontally,and a fillinghole immediatelyin front
of the handle shows that the vessel was intended to function as a lamp. Traces of glaze on the interiorsuggest
that the glans was glazed, although the remainderof the vessel is unglazed. It comes from the outdoor pool
of an Early Imperial bath, with destructiondebris which clearly included the decorations of the courtyard;
one wonderswhether it, too, may not be part of the bath furnishings.If so, it would have protectedthe bathers
from the dangers of the Evil Eye, a force greatly feared in baths in Late Antiquityand probably earlier also.
See Dunbabin 1989, pp. 33-46 and esp. pl. XV.a, b for the use of ithyphallicfigures in mosaic to protect
the thresholdof the baths;see alsoJohns 1982, p. 64.
112 Museo Nazionale, Naples, RP imv.nos. 908 Santangelo, 27859, 125169; illustrated in Grant 1982,
pp. 128-129. Also Erosin Pompeii,p. 118, top (no. 125169);p. 116 (no. 27859), and p. 118, bottom (inv.908
Santangelo)are similar.These masks are equipped with suspensionrings. The inspirationfor the mask with
an oscillatingphallus as tongue will in part have been figures of Bes with their large phalluses and tongues
impudently stuck out. The mask was unquestionablyan apotropaeum,paceGrant (1982), who suggests that
the object was a birdbathand that the phaHlus
would have acted as a floatwhen the cavitywas filledwith water.
113 Pliny,NH 19.50: horto
in remediosaturicasigna
etforotantmcontrabwidetium
e iasones dicarividemus
quamquan
hortoshtlae Venis ass'gat Plut.
500
KATHLEEN W SLANE AND M. W DICKIE
ithyphallic deities in general and does not just refer to Priapus, one of whose concerns
was the protection of gardens."14
The motif of a human head equippedwith wings forming the top of a phallic vase finds
parallelsin a figurine in the Louvre,115and in one or two pieces in Alexandria;116all are
probably of Egyptian manufacture.'17The figurine in the Louvre has only recently been
published, although Perdrizetreferredto it some 70 years ago and correctly divined that
the broken tube from which a female head emerged, with wings protrudingon each side
of the vessel at shoulder level, must have ended in a phallus.118The Alexandrian vessel,
of which only the head and wings survive,is of the same dimensions (p.L. 0. 115 m.) and
general design, though differingin detail.
The Louvre figure is broken offjust below a pair of stubbywings, which, like those on
C-27-37, face upwardstowardsthe head and not downwardstowardsthe end of the phallus.
Round lines form the upper downy feathers,while vertical incisions below them represent
the pin feathers. The chokerlikegarland that separatesthe phallus from the head is only
on the front.Two narrowridgesvisibleon the frontof the tube evidentlysignifythe enlarged
veins of an erect penis. On the back of the head incised lines of hair spiral into a central
bun. In front, the hair is marcelledinto a seriesof waves on either side of a centralparting,
and a corkscrewcurl dangles below each ear; there is no trace of a high "beehive"or braid
behind the waves. The corkscrewtressesbelow the ears recall the hairstylesof Livia and
Agrippinasenior,as seen on coins, but the marcelledwaves also appear on Fayumportraits
of the middle of the 2nd century after Christ. The woman wears solid dangling earrings
{inboth ears, and a row of pearlsdecoratesthe centralparting.The woman has a prominent
Adam's apple. The mouth of the figureis odd: the teeth are carefullydetailed between the
open lips, and the tongue is hanging out to the left (viewer'sright). In profile, the nose is
definitelyhooked. The eyebrowsdo not meet evenly over the nose.
ike the piece in Corinth this terracottawas made in a two-part vertical mold. The
handle on the back is moldmade in the same shape as a lamp handle but is very small
(0.007 m. high)."9 Rather than being pierced horizontally,it is pierced obliquely (as for a
114
So Herter 1932, p. 207, and on Priapus'protectivefunctions,pp. 201-216, and specificallyagainstthe Evil
Eye,pp. 232-233; similarlyGrimal 1943, p.46 and Wrede 1972, pp. 139-140. On the apotropaicuse of images
of Silenusand Satyros,cf. RE, ser. 2, III, 1927, s.v.Silenos und Satyros,col. 42 (A. Hartnann).
"5 Formerlyin the Musee Guimet. Dunand 1990, inv.no. E20905, no. 821, p. 275.
116
Breccia 1934, inv.no. 22297, pl. XCVII:544, no. 385, p. 56; inv.no. 22305, pl. XCVII:546, no. 386, p. 56.
117
Kathleen Slane wishes to thank Mine. Fran9oiseDunand, Mine. M.-F. Aubert, and Mme. Elizabeth
Delange for their kindness in allowing her to examine this piece. The clay of the figure is not Knidian but
probably,as Dunand has suggested, Egyptian. It is fired gray on the interiorwith a deep maroon core and
a reddishbrown exteriorsurface(neitherthe gray nor the maroon is near the color of Knidian).The fabric is
very gritty,and the temper is poorly sorted. Mica is visible on the exterior surface, and there is no slip. The
diameterof the tube is 0.034-0.035 m. (smallerthan C-27-37), and its preservedlength is 0.126 m. The original
should have been roughlythe same length as C-27-37, that is, 0.238 m.
118 Perdrizet 1921, no. 512, p. 168. Two terracottaphalluses from the Collection Fouquet equipped with
wings and surmountedby an ass'shead encouragedPerdrizetto conjecturethat the Louvre figurewas phallic
in form. These come from Lower Egypt, are half the size of C-27-37 (0.114 m.), have a brown fabric covered
with a rose-coloredslip, and have suspensionringsat the rear.
119This is a point of comparisonwith Egyptianlamps.
A KNIDIANPHALLICVASEFROMCORINTH
501
piece of string),so that if suspended, the figure would slant to the viewer's right (showing
the grimacingside of the face).
The face on this figureis not as grotesquenor as distortedas that of C-27-37, although
the featuresare by any other standardextremelycontorted.120The most strikingsimilarities
with C-27-37 are the wings protrudingfrom the body and the phallic lower end. Other
significantpoints in common are the hooked nose with flaringnostrils,the earrings,and the
creased and frowningbrow.It is clear that such winged phallusessurmountedby grotesque
faces were manufacturedin at least two centersin the early Imperialperiod, one in Knidos
and one in Egypt.
CONCLUSIONS
All the vesselsdiscussedin the previoussectionare long and narrow,too narrowfor those
that have a mouth to have been used convenientlyas drinkingvessels.Nor is the tip of any
of them pierced to serve as a rhyton. The narrow form suggestsviscous or solid contents
and is akin to that of unguentaria.The decorativerepertoireincludesPriapus,vine wreaths,
and floral garlands,as well as apotropaeasuch as the figure of Envy and perhaps a phallic
bird. Although these Knidian phallic vases are clearlyrelated to the wider class of Knidian
reliefvesselsof the late 1st and 2nd centuriesafter Christ,the phallic vesselshave a different
decorativerepertoire(sharingonly vine and floralgarlands)and seem to be the only shape of
this classthatwas not able to stand. On the other hand, the Egyptianpieces lack any opening
and are properlyclassedas figurines.
If the Knidian vessels were intended primarilyas receptacles,what connection could
there have been between their decorationand their contents? It is possible that the natural
phallic shape of the vesselled the potter to decorateit firstas a phallusand then with various
other apotropaicdevices.While the desireto embellishshouldnot be discountedentirelyas a
motive, the specific iconographyof the two vessels from Corinth and the vessel in Cracow
suggestsa more definite purpose for them and for their contents as well. It is possible that
the contents were either apotropaicor diagnostic, that is, the decoration reflected the use
of the contents.121Anotherpossibilityis that they were associatedwith a luxuriousway of life
that might arouseenvy and that the decorationwas meant to affordprotectionagainstsuch a
danger.The deviceswill then have performeda similarr6le to that of the eyes on eye cups. It
should not be too readilyassumed,however,that such vases were primarilycontainers.122
120
Breccia(1934, loc.cit. [note 116 above])categorizesthe Alexandrianheads under the heading Deformazione
spintaall' estremo.
121
In modern Greece, when the necessityarisesof determiningwhether an attempt to banish the Evil Eye
has been efficacious,holy oil from the village church is poured into a glass of water while prayers are said.
If or when the oil floatson the water,the spell is gone. It is probablethat similardiagnostictechniquesexistedin
antiquity,althoughnone is attestedin our literarysources.
122 A most clear-cutinstance of vesselswhose only purposewas magic is the bowls dating from the 4th to the
6th centuries after Christ from Mesopotamia and Iran that have spells inscribedwithin them in concentric
circles.These have been found in situlying face down. (Cf. Naveh and Shaded 1985, pp. 124-198, pls. 14-31.)
There are vessels from the region around Cologne and one from Pompeii whose function seems prinarily
to have been magical. (Cf. Amand 1955, pp. 186-201; Renard,pp. 202-240; Elia 1960, pp. 5-6, pl. 11:1, 2.)
502
KATHLEEN
W SLANEANDM.W DICKIE
The phallusesin the Louvreand in Alexandriawhich are surmountedby winged female
grotesquesclosingoff the mouth of the tube can only have been intended as apotropaeato be
hung at some strategicpoint. Such devicesare a variationon the apotropaicphallusescarved
in relief on the exterior walls of houses and the large bronze phalluses evidently meant to
be suspended at the entrancesto houses or rooms. The Knidian vases may also have been
hung, probablyat the entranceto a house or room as protectionagainstthe Evil Eye.
One should not assume that the Evil Eye was feared with equal intensity at all times
and in every corner of the Roman Empire. There were no doubt periods and places in
which people felt more keenly conscious of the danger of the Evil Eye. The devices that
were used to ward it off will also have varied somewhat. Even when these allowances are
made, it is surprisinghow little recognizableevidence exists from the Greek mainland and
Aegean islands for any period, including that of the Roman Empire, for belief in the Evil
Eye. The explanation for this anomaly is unclear. Currently,there is more evidence from
Corinth (two phallic Knidian vases, one phallic lamp, and one small bronze phallic amulet)
than from anywhereelse in Greece (withthe exception of Delos) for belief in the Evil Eye. It
seems on the whole unlikelythat objectsfromthe 2nd centuryafterChristare vestigesof the
beliefs and practices Italian colonists introducedat the end of the 1st century B.C. and at
the beginning of the 1st century after Christ, although it may be that the greater contact
Corinth, in contrast to the rest of Greece, continued to have with Italy helps explain the
difference.It seems more likely that, because goods from the eastern Mediterraneanwere
transshippedthroughCorinth,it was more open to influencesfromthat area than were other
Greek cities. Whatever the explanation, a visitor entering some Corinthian houses would
have seen nothing markedlydifferentfrom what could be found in Ephesos or Smyrna. It
would seem, then, that Corinth in the 2nd centuryafterChristsharedthe beliefs of the cities
of the easternMediterranean.
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KATHLEEN WARNER SLANE
UNIVERSrrY OFMISSOURI-COLUMBIA
Department of Art History and Archaeology
109 PickardHall
Columbia,Missouri65211
M. W DicKiE
UNIVERSrrYOF ILLINOISAT CHICAGO
Department of Classics
M/C 129, Box 4348
Chicago, Illinois60680
b. Leftside
a. Front
c. Back
CorinthC-27-37. Scale 1:2
KATImiN
W SLANEANDM. W DicKI: A KNIDIANPHALLIC VASE FROM CORINTH
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